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So I am working on a project where a client discovered a problem on a site a previous developer built for them. They found that the Scribd iPaper module loads up secure documents fine in Firefox, Safari, and Chrome but not in Internet Explorer.

In IE the darn thing just doesn't load. The site is using the Drupal iPaper module which was funded by Scribd I believe. It is using the Flash reader (for secure documents). I would switch it over to using the newer HTML5 reader, however they need the document to be secured and the HTML5 reader does not offer a feature for that.

I have dug around on the Internet for answers and found nothing of use. I suspected a possible CSS or JS related issue (we all know how obnoxious IE can be), but when I removed all of both from the page the results stayed the same.

I then tried to find an alternative solution and found Embedit.in. Made a PHP Library and a Drupal module and then as of Monday of this week their service started going on the fritz (no longer converting uploaded files, they claim server problems). I looked into docstoc, but in order to use their API you have to email them since they disabled the request form due to spam problems. I have emailed them but with no reply. I even offered to share a PHP library and Drupal module that I will make and maintain myself with them and the world (which is what I intended to do with Embedit.in too).

I also looked into the option of using an embed code to directly load a PDF in the browser. Works great in everything except Firefox (has problems getting the right plugin and doesn't default to the Adobe Flash plugin like all the other browsers).

I have also tried compiling PDF2SWF on my Mac with no luck. I am not even sure if I could use that on the servers and I don't have SSH access to the prod server anyway (Subversion deployment only).

I am getting to the end of my ropes here. Anyone have any solutions for me?

I need the following abilities:

  1. Secure the documents
  2. Display in IE, FF, and Safari on Windows and Mac
  3. Display directly in the browser without requiring the user to download an extra plugin (beyond Flash).
  4. Be able to set it up programmatically and this has to work with PDFs.

Thanks!

Patrick
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  • you never found a solution to IE and Secure iPaper from Scribd? I'm finding that the bicycle spinner is appearing (very low) but that the document doesn't load. – David Oliver Sep 27 '11 at 09:55

1 Answers1

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Scribd sent me a message in July saying that they had fixed the problem. But I never tried undoing my workaround.

What I ended up doing is I realized that when the iPaper module uploads the file to the server and then to Scribd it leaves the file on the server when it is done. Since the filename is recorded I just modified the module to check which browser is being used and if IE then use an embed code and refer directly to the file on the server.

It isn't the best solution, but it works. I have put my code changes up on PasteBin: http://pastebin.com/zYfcU3jq

Patrick
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